St. Joseph County road projects on hold

Ross blocks contract awards.

Ross blocks contract awards.

July 27, 2006|JAMES WENSITS Tribune Political Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Work on four county road projects has been delayed because County Commissioner Steve Ross doesn't want to give the work to the local contractor who submitted the lowest bids. Ross, D-2nd, said Wednesday that he blocked a vote on bids submitted by the Rieth-Riley Construction Co. of South Bend because he has "a real problem with the material they are using on our roads." Gene Yarkie, Rieth-Riley regional vice president, rejected Ross's complaints and said the commissioner doesn't know enough about paving to even be able to comment on it. The flap began at Tuesday's commissioners' meeting when Ross refused to make a motion or cast a vote on any aspect of the contracts. Commissioner President Cindy Bodle, D-3rd, tried to get Ross to go along with simply tabling the vote, but he refused to participate in that as well. In the absence of Commissioner Mark Dobson, R-1st, Bodle was powerless to go forward and all of the recommendations died for lack of a motion. County Attorney Tony Zappia advised that the vote be reset for next Tuesday's commissioner meeting. Rieth-Riley is one of a small handful of area contractors that regularly bid and do work on local road projects. County Engineer Susan Al-Abbas had recommended to the commissioners that the company's bids be accepted on projects involving portions of Douglas, Day, Buckeye and Juniper roads. During the commissioners' meeting, Ross offered little explanation, other than to say he had received "disturbing information" about work on an unspecified project in the Gilmer Park area on the south side of South Bend. The project he was referring to involved paving of north-south streets in the subdivision last summer. According to Al-Abbas, the Gilmer Park project was designed to use a thin layer of small-aggregate asphalt in an attempt to save money. When the paving trucks arrived, the mix included a larger aggregate than had been called for, according to Al-Abbas, who said the difference meant that a thicker layer of asphalt had to be put down. The engineer said the thicker layer was allowed, but at the same price as would have been paid for the thinner mix. The result, she said, is that the county benefited from the switch by getting thicker pavement. Bodle similarly recalled that plans had called for a thin, 3/4-inch layer of asphalt on the streets. "What we really got was inch-and-a- half pavement," she said, "so what's the problem." According to Yarkie, the problem is Ross. "He's just sitting there, waiting for any way to criticize." Ross stood by his position Wednesday, saying the commissioners have the right to reject the engineer's recommendation "if we can prove justification for picking a higher bid." The commissioner said he is not saying that Rieth-Riley is incompetent, and said his concern is the "soft aggregate" the company mines from its own quarry. Ross contended because the stone is porous, it absorbs more water and leads to road breakup when it freezes. "That's just a scientific fact," Ross said. Ross also said that the material had originally been offered for use on a state project, but was rejected. "Why are we getting state-rejected material?" he asked. Yarkie denied that the material had first been offered to the state. "No way there was anything wrong with the material," he said. "It was all tested and approved." Yarkie acknowledged that his company uses its own aggregate when the specifications allow, but noted that other road-building materials, such as limestone and slag, can also be porous. "He doesn't know much about paving," Yarkie said of Ross. Yarkie expressed pride in the Gilmer Park paving work. "That pavement is great. Not only does it look good, it is good," he said. Al-Abbas injected a note of caution in the discussion, saying that the law requires the commissioners have a valid reason for not accepting a bid on a project. At this point, Al-Abbas said, there is no valid reason for not awarding the projects to Rieth-Riley. Staff writer James Wensits: jwensits@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6353